Improved raker for harvesters



C. P. GRONBERG.

Harvester Rake.

Patented Dec. 1, 1857.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

O. P. GRONBERG, OF GENEVA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED RAKER FOR HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,736, dated December 1, 16 57.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, O. P. GRONBERG, of Geneva, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Automatic Rakes for Harvesters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of a raker embracing my improvement; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section taken through the line or 00 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the standard, showing the position ofthe rakes when compressing the grain.

My improvement consists in a new and peculiar mode of operating automatic rakers, by which the grain is raked off the platform and deposited in a neat and compact gavel at the side on the rear of the machine farthest removed from the standing grain.

Persons acquainted with the practical working of reapers are well aware how much annoyance and loss of time is experienced when, from some cause or other, their parts get out of order, this being more especially the case with the gearing parts, which, by the complicated nature of their construction, cannot be so easily replaced without a resort to the foundry, which cannot always be found within a reasonable distance. Any system ofconstruction which tends to simplify them and to facilitate their replacement or repair in the event of accident constitutes, therefore, a valuable improvement.

To enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use my improved raker, I will now proceed to describe its parts and mode of operation in detail.

In the accompanying drawings, Arepresents the platform for, the reception of the falling grain as it is cut, at one end of which is erected a standard, B, on the upper end of which is mounted the pulley 0, there being a second similar pulley, O, mounted upon the upper end of the driving-shaft a, which has its bearing in the standard D, erected on the other end of the platform. Both pulleys 0 and O are encompassed by an endless chain, E. Between and to the standards 13 and D is secured a guiding-rod, b,there being another, 0, arranged above the other and secured to standards y and 3 attached to the standards B and I), the one,

b, below and the other, 0, above the two pulleys O and G. On the under guiding-rod,b, is hung a swinging frame, d, consisting of a rod bent at right angles at both ends, or in any other equivalent manner, and then suspended by its ends to the guiding-rod b in any suitable manner. To one end of this swinging frame is attach ed a stationary arm, F, carrying pron gs on its lower end, another arm, G, to which 1s secured the movable fork H, being provided at one end with a sliding collar, 0, which is mounted on the guide-rod I), and at the other end with a hook or collar,f, for the purpose of attaching it loosely to the swinging frame d. The collar 0 is iuclosed by the lips of another collar, g, similar to a rule-joint, which is provided with an upright, h, fork-shaped at its upper end, so as to engage with the guidingrod 0 for the purpose of being upheld in a perpendicular position. On the upper part of the upright his secured arevolving arm, '8, to which is attached one end of a connecting-chain, m, the other end of which is pivoted to an arm,7r, secured to the endless chain E, so that when motion is communicated to the driving-pulley O the endless'chain E is caused to travel round, and as the connecting-chain m is attached to it it travels with it and pulls alongthe upright h and fork H. \Vhen the fork arrives at either end of the guide-rod b, it remains stationary until that part of the endless chain E to which the arm k is secured passes round the pulley, the arm 21 in the meantime turning on its pivot, so that when it has passed round the pulley the connecting-chain. m again commences to pull the fork H back until itarrives at the other pulley, and so on. To the end of the swinging frame d, next to the stationary fork F, is attached an arm of ajointed lever, 02, whose fulcrum is formed in the standard 1), the other arm of which extends upward by the outside of the pulley O far enough to enable the arm k as it passes around the pulley to force it back, thereby causing the lever n to force outward and upward from the platform the swinging frame d, thus raising the forks F and H in an inclined position from the plane of the platform, as represented by red lines in Fig. 2. The moment they have been raised to this position the catch-lever l, arranged on the other standard, B, engages with the swinging frame and causes it to remain in this position until the fork H arrives at that end of the rod b.

Then as the arm It passes round the pulley 0 it strikes the arm 0 of the lever t and causes it to release the swinging frame, which drops down to its original position,bringing the forks back to a vertical position over; the platform ready to commence again the operation of raking the grain from the platform by its advance motion over the platform. To the driving-shaft a of the pulley O motion is communicated from the driving-gear of the harvester by means of a universal coupling composed of two or more iron rings, one of which, 1*, is secured to the driving-shaft a and connected by means of the middle one, r", with the third, 1, which is secured to the driving-shaft p or, for greater simplicity, the ends of the drivi'n g-rods may be so shaped as to form a ring, as shown in Fig. 1.

When the machine is put in operation, as the ring 1, secured to the driving-rod 19, commences to revolve with it, it willcause (through the medium of the middle ring, the ring 1") and with it the driving-shaft a, to which it is secured, to revolve also, thereby imparting motion to the pulley O, which in turn causes the endless chain E to travel round the pulleys and to pull along the movable fork H from one end of the platform to the other. The natural position of the fork H being vertical over the platform, it rakes off as it slides alongall the grain from it, which operation is greatly facilitated by a series of parallel rods or strips, 3, secured to the upper side of the platform. When the movable fork H arrives close to the stationary one F the, fingers of both forks compress the grain between them, thus forming it into a neat and compact bunarm 70 has passed round the pulley G the fork H is caused to slide back, thus permitting the grain to drop down in a bundle on the ground in the rear ofrthe machine atthe side farthest removed from the standing grain. 'The fork H continues to move onward with the endless chain in the inclined position, so as not to interfere with the grain as it is cut, and falls upon the platform but whenit arrives at the end of its back journey the arm is, as before, in passing round the pulley G, touches the arm 0 of the catch-lever t, thereby disengaging the swinging frame at, which returns to its original position, bringing the fork backin to the proper position to rake the grain from the platform.

Having thus described my invention, I'claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The guide-rods b and 0 and swinging frame d, carrying the stationary fork F, in combination with the levers t and n and traveling fork H, the whole being constructed and operated and arranged in relation to each other in the' manner substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand.

O. P. GRONBERG.

Witnesses:

J. H. MAYBORNE, E. J.'ALLEN. 

